As is known, the rolling bearings intended to equip machines for the food industry, for hygienic reasons, undergo very frequent washing, usually every day, plus a very thorough wash once a week, carried out using pressurized jets of cleaning/disinfecting liquid.
Owing to these frequent washing operations using cleaning liquids which have a low surface tension, the sealing lips and, eventually, the rolling bearings themselves are subject to premature wear since these cleaning liquids, when mixed with the washing water, tend to infiltrate inside the lubricating film of the bearings precisely because of their low surface tension. In order to overcome this problem, seals with high-interference contact lips have been developed, but not only does the sealing action not appear to have improved significantly, but an increase in the friction has also been noted, with a consequent greater energy consumption, in particular, with greater wear of the contact lips.